Loss of polarization entanglement in a fiber-optic system with polarization mode dispersion in one optical path

We characterize theoretically and experimentally the degradation of polarization entanglement in a fiber-optic entanglement distribution system where one of the optical fibers is exposed to the effects of polarization mode dispersion (PMD). We show gradual reduction of entanglement with increasing PMD and find that the highest PMD tolerance is achieved when the bandwidth of the pump used to generate the entangled photons in a ×(3) process is approximately half the bandwidth of the quantum channels. © 2010 Optical Society of America.